BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) Looks Like A Good Stock, And It's Going Ex-Dividend Soon

It looks like BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) is about to go ex-dividend in the next 4 days. This means that investors who purchase shares on or after the 14th of October will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 30th of October.

BankUnited's next dividend payment will be US$0.23 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed US$0.92 to shareholders. Looking at the last 12 months of distributions, BankUnited has a trailing yield of approximately 3.7% on its current stock price of $24.77. We love seeing companies pay a dividend, but it's also important to be sure that laying the golden eggs isn't going to kill our golden goose! So we need to check whether the dividend payments are covered, and if earnings are growing.

Check out our latest analysis for BankUnited

Dividends are typically paid out of company income, so if a company pays out more than it earned, its dividend is usually at a higher risk of being cut. Fortunately BankUnited's payout ratio is modest, at just 41% of profit.

Generally speaking, the lower a company's payout ratios, the more resilient its dividend usually is.

Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Businesses with strong growth prospects usually make the best dividend payers, because it's easier to grow dividends when earnings per share are improving. If business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company could see its value fall precipitously. With that in mind, we're encouraged by the steady growth at BankUnited, with earnings per share up 2.2% on average over the last five years.

The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. In the last 10 years, BankUnited has lifted its dividend by approximately 5.1% a year on average. It's encouraging to see the company lifting dividends while earnings are growing, suggesting at least some corporate interest in rewarding shareholders.

The Bottom Line

Is BankUnited an attractive dividend stock, or better left on the shelf? BankUnited has seen its earnings per share grow slowly in recent years, and the company reinvests more than half of its profits in the business, which generally bodes well for its future prospects. We think this is a pretty attractive combination, and would be interested in investigating BankUnited more closely.

In light of that, while BankUnited has an appealing dividend, it's worth knowing the risks involved with this stock. To help with this, we've discovered 1 warning sign for BankUnited that you should be aware of before investing in their shares.

If you're in the market for dividend stocks, we recommend checking our list of top dividend stocks with a greater than 2% yield and an upcoming dividend.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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